What if Red Bull solved its second-car problem with a paint job?

The saga surrounding Yuki Tsunoda’s promotion and Liam Lawson’s demotion to Racing Bulls is thus: for years now, round and thru Max Verstappen’s a number of world titles, Crimson Bull has been a one-car Method 1 squad.

Since Daniel Ricciardo’s exit from the height of his F1 profession in 2018, Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, Sergio Perez and now Lawson have tried and failed to deal with driving a automotive principally organized to go well with the uber-pointy front-end desire of Max Verstappen throughout the Crimson Bull storage. That’s via two totally different design guidelines eras.

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Resplendent in one-off white, Tsunoda will begin his try and keep away from becoming a member of that record at this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix.

However, from the seriousness of Perez’s lack of ability to match Verstappen’s factors hauls in 2021 and 2024 costing Crimson Bull two constructors’ championships, a wry statement from inside the F1 paddock final trip on the Chinese language GP hinted there could be a fast repair for Christian Horner’s squad.

Given Verstappen was suggesting in Shanghai that the Racing Bulls automotive is “simpler to drive than ours”, then why wouldn’t an answer be to color a VCARB 02 to run within the chosen colors of the second Crimson Bull?

Liam Lawson, Crimson Bull Racing, Isack Hadjar, RB F1 Crew

Picture by: Crimson Bull Content material Pool

The upsides for Crimson Bull can be clear.

It may consider fettling the RB21 to maintain giving Verstappen the robust entrance finish he needs however scale back the confidence-sapping rear finish snaps that even his prodigious expertise can’t tame after they randomly strike.

On the identical time, whoever is deigned to be Verstappen’s team-mate on any given weekend – he’s about to have a 3rd in simply 4 grands prix, since Abu Dhabi final yr – would get to drive the extra compliant Racing Bulls bundle, with its barely larger trip top often making it simpler to drive.

There’s even historic F1 examples of groups fielding very totally different automotive specs – from the low- and high-downforce Crimson Bull RB20 packages Perez and Verstappen had been respectively working ultimately yr’s Hungarian GP, to McLaren coming into its common M7A automobiles (organized in three totally different specs) in addition to the one-off four-wheel drive M9A on the 1969 British GP.

Clearly, this being the relentlessly actual fashionable world, Crimson Bull’s F1 rivals would object to such a gambit because the championship has lengthy moved on from this being allowed.

They might have the authorized foundation to cease this plan in its tracks (which doesn’t cease it being an intriguing dialogue in a sphere as intricate and engaging as motorsport).

The principle rule such an try would fall afoul of is Article 17.3 (and its many sub-categories) of F1’s technical laws, which covers “Listed Crew Elements” (LTC). This limits groups to including particular elements (together with all aerodynamic surfaces) to their automobiles for in-competition use that they’ve designed themselves.

Then there’s additionally rule Article 17.5 on Transferable Elements (TRC), which covers elements that groups can construct after which promote to others.

That is significantly pertinent to the Crimson Bull/Racing Bulls scenario given they share many mechanical elements – together with suspension for each entrance and rear axles, plus gearboxes.

Max Verstappen, Crimson Bull Racing, Isack Hadjar, RB F1 Crew

Picture by: Crimson Bull Content material Pool

F1’s technical guidelines additionally embrace Commonplace Provide Elements (SSC) and Open Supply Elements (OSC) elements provide that cowl particular (and usually not performance-influencing) components of automobiles which are outsourced in manufacturing phrases to suppliers. This may embrace different squads.

Though such guidelines have been tweaked through the years – primarily round Haas’s arrival as an F1 competitor utilizing as many listed elements produced by Ferrari as permitted again in 2016 – Crimson Bull is definitely the principle cause why guidelines that ban buyer automobiles exist within the first place.

Since late 2005, Crimson Bull has owned each its eponymous squad and its many-named junior group, which led to the complicated outlawing of two groups working near-identical designs again in 2010.

As a kicker, F1’s guidelines (Article 17.2.4 and 17.2.6 of the 2025 technical laws) even prohibit Crimson Bull transferring workers between its two squads to share any concepts.

And Crimson Bull couldn’t even use photos, scans or video footage to duplicate Racing Bulls’s compliant bundle for one automotive – it must burn up its personal sources conducting the analysis behind such designs.

In the price cap period, that’s more durable than ever and, actually, a headache Crimson Bull may do with out because it continues its self-set process of offering Verstappen with a automotive to go well with his genius wants that doesn’t destroy the probabilities of his team-mate. And, proper now, that doesn’t even add as much as the quickest automotive for only one Crimson Bull driver…